Deep Impact: Working Properties for the Target Nucleus – Comet 9P/Tempel 1

In 1998, Comet 9P/Tempel 1 was chosen as the target of the Deep Impact mission (A’Hearn, M. F., Belton, M. J. S., and Delamere, A., Space Sci. Rev., 2005) even though very little was known about its physical properties. Efforts were immediately begun to improve this situation by the Deep Impact Science Team leading to the founding of a worldwide observing campaign (Meech et al., Space Sci. Rev., 2005a). This campaign has already produced a great deal of information on the global properties of the comet’s nucleus (summarized in Table I) that is vital to the planning and the assessment of the chances of success at the impact and encounter. Since the mission was begun the successful encounters of the Deep Space 1 spacecraft at Comet 19P/Borrelly and the Stardust spacecraft at Comet 81P/Wild 2 have occurred yielding new information on the state of the nuclei of these two comets. This information, together with earlier results on the nucleus of comet 1P/Halley from the European Space Agency’s Giotto, the Soviet Vega mission, and various ground-based observational and theoretical studies, is used as a basis for conjectures on the morphological, geological, mechanical, and compositional properties of the surface and subsurface that Deep Impact may find at 9P/Tempel 1. We adopt the following working values (circa December 2004) for the nucleus parameters of prime importance to Deep Impact as follows: mean effective radius = 3.25± 0.2 km, shape – irregular triaxial ellipsoid with a/b = 3.2± 0.4 and overall dimensions of ∼14.4 × 4.4 × 4.4 km, principal axis rotation with period = 41.85± 0.1 hr, pole directions (RA, Dec, J2000) = 46± 10, 73± 10 deg (Pole 1) or 287± 14, 16.5± 10 deg (Pole 2) (the two poles are photometrically, but not geometrically, equivalent), Kron-Cousins (V-R) color = 0.56± 0.02, V-band geometric albedo = 0.04± 0.01, R-band geometric albedo = 0.05± 0.01, R-band H(1,1,0) = 14.441± 0.067, and mass ∼7×10¹³ kg assuming a bulk density of 500 kg m⁻³. As these are working values, {i.e.}, based on preliminary analyses, it is expected that adjustments to their values may be made before encounter as improved estimates become available through further analysis of the large database being made available by the Deep Impact observing campaign. Given the parameters listed above the impact will occur in an environment where the local gravity is estimated at 0.027–0.04 cm s⁻² and the escape velocity between 1.4 and 2 m s⁻¹. For both of the rotation poles found here, the Deep Impact spacecraft on approach to encounter will find the rotation axis close to the plane of the sky (aspect angles 82.2 and 69.7 deg. for pole 1 and 2, respectively). However, until the rotation period estimate is substantially improved, it will remain uncertain whether the impactor will collide with the broadside or the ends of the nucleus.     

Variations of the magnetic fields in large solar flares

We present preliminary results from high resolution observations obtained with the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument on the SOHO of two large solar flares of 14 July 2000 and 24 November 2000. We show that rapid variations of the line-of-sight magnetic field occured on a time scale of a few minutes during the flare explosions. The reversibility/irreversibility of the magnetic field of both active regions is a very good tool for understanding how the magnetic energy is released in these flares. The observed sharp increase of the magnetic energy density at the time of maximum of the solar flare could involve an unknown component which deposited supplementary energy into the system. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

航天飞机三维最优再入轨道及气动加热过程

本文应用现代控制理论研究了航天飞行器三维最优再入轨道和与轨道参数密切相关的气动加热过程。文中选择飞行器迎角和倾斜角作为控制变量,以飞行器气动加热率和飞行过载沿轨道积分最小作为优化性能指标,按极大原理导出最优再入轨道有约束控制的非线性两点边值问题。采用了数值优化方法——共轭梯度法求解有升力飞行器的最优再入轨道及其热过程。文中以允许误差法讨论了权系数和罚函数的选取方法;对不同速度范围研究了不同的加热模型;按热平衡方程与优化轨道同步迭代的方法求得了算例数值结果。算例的数值结果与文献[13]的量值是一致的。     

What do Cosmogenic Isotopes Tell us About Past Solar Forcing of Climate?

In paleoclimate studies, cosmogenic isotopes are frequently used as proxy indicators of past variations in solar irradiance on centennial and millennial timescales. These isotopes are spallation products of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) impacting Earth's atmosphere, which are deposited and stored in terrestrial reservoirs such as ice sheets, ocean sediments and tree trunks. On timescales shorter than the variations in the geomagnetic field, they are modulated by the heliosphere and thus they are, strictly speaking, an index of heliospheric variability rather than one of solar variability. Strong evidence of climate variations associated with the production (as opposed to the deposition) of these isotopes is emerging. This raises a vital question: do cosmic rays have a direct influence on climate or are they a good proxy indicator for another factor that does (such as the total or spectral solar irradiance)? The former possibility raises further questions about the possible growth of air ions generated by cosmic rays into cloud condensation nuclei and/or the modulation of the global thunderstorm electric circuit. The latter possibility requires new understanding about the required relationship between the heliospheric magnetic fields that scatter cosmic rays and the photospheric magnetic fields which modulate solar irradiance.     

High-Frequency Radio Signatures of Solar Eruptive Flares

Several examples of the radio emission of eruptive solar flares with high-frequency slowly drifting structures and type II bursts are presented. Relationships of these radio bursts with eruptive phenomena such as soft X-ray plasmoid ejection and shock formation are shown. Possible underlying physical processes are discussed in the framework of the plasmoid ejection model of eruptive solar flares. On the other hand, it is shown that these radio bursts can be considered as radio signatures of eruptive solar flares and thus used for the prediction of heliospheric effects. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

航天飞行中的稀薄气体动力学

飞船、宇航探测器、航天飞机等复杂外形航天器给气体动力学，包括稀薄气体动力学提出了新的要求。本文简要介绍了为计算过渡领域中气动力与热而发展的基于位置元概念的DSMC方法的通用算法。该方法解决了计算物面通量量的技术难点并已用于模拟圆球、飞船、类航天飞机的绕流。正在进行的航天实践，如麦哲伦飞船对金星的探测、行星大气中的气动制动、伽利略飞船的木星之行、尾屏蔽在太空中获得高真空的实验等等提出了新的气动力问题，稀薄气体动力学和DSMC方法是有力的工具。     

航天飞机防热瓦缝隙气动加热的讨论

本文根据航天飞机防热瓦缝隙流动的特点,从二维定常不可压缩层流的 N-S方程出发,提出了一个简化流动模型,即缝隙的二维流动可近似当作两个准一维沟槽流动的线性迭加,由此给出了缝隙中的热流率与压力、压力梯度和缝隙宽度的变化规律,并利用现有的实验结果作了验证。     

形态图计算中的投影空间维数和投影空间模型

确定投影空间维数和建立投影空间模型是计算机视觉领域中形态图计算时一个十分重要的基本问题，本文根据态图计算时特征视图拓扑结构等价的特点，指出轴测投影下的投影空间是二维空间，透视投影空间为三维空间，并分别了投影空间模型的建立方法，从而使复杂物体形科计算是简单可行。     

Banach空间中微分包含解的存在性

本文在无穷维Ｂａｎａｃｈ空产是中讨论微分包含解的存在性，先给出了几个普通微分包含的比较定理，讨论了近似解与解的关系，然后得到了Ｂａｎａｃｈ空间中微分包含解的存在性定理。     

空间积分声光相关器——脉冲信号检测

论述了空间积分声光相关器对脉冲调制连续波信号的瞬时响应，分析了从实时光电检测器中检测出的波形，该波形是脉冲宽度，加权函数参量和与脉冲位置相关的空间衍射光分布的函数。进一步提出了脉冲序列相关时的光分布关系并通过实验加以论证。